AN: Okay so here goes attempt number two at bleach fanfiction. Hopefully it's up to standards. I know I should be working on other stories but...here I am. Either way, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own bleach. Unfortunately. Wish I did. Wouldn't have to work then lol xD

Title of story inspired by: Heavy Lies The Crown by In Fear & Faith

Maybe you just need some time,

Maybe it's too late.

Ichigo remembered hearing the voice for the first time moments before his mother was killed. It had been screaming at him to get away, to flee - but he had to save the girl. Had to at least warn her of the danger. At that point he didn't know he'd been sensing the hollow's reiatsu, only that the girl in the white dress was in horrible danger.

The voice had tried to warn him but he'd ignored it just like he'd ignored is mother's cries. It wasn't until after her body had been gruesomely cut down that Ichigo realized the little girl was no where to be found.

After that it was just him, his father and his two sisters. And the voice. It had stuck around - often offering him advice in the way of telling him what areas were dangerous and needed to be avoided. It said that there were more creatures like the one who'd killed his mom there. When Ichigo got mad about this, the voice would reassure him that they would one day be strong enough to beat them - they just had to grow up first.

He'd learned almost right away not to mention the voice to anyone. His father looked at him with concern in his eyes, like he was afraid of Ichigo. His sisters would just smile and pretend like they weren't terrified. They told him the voice was bad, and that he shouldn't listen to it. But the voice hadn't said anything mean to Ichigo - and it only gave him helpful advice. So he chose to keep it to himself, content to have his very own special friend.

Sometimes he would have dreams at night where the voice was a person. A person who looked like him but with white skin and hair, and golden eyes. Thus Ichigo had come up with the nickname Shiro. Said albino didn't seem to mind - in fact Ichigo got the feeling that he was happy about the name.

As he got older the dreams became a nightly thing. They would meet up in a sideways world full of skyscrapers. Sometimes they would talk, other times they would fight (though Shiro liked to call it sparring). They wielded blades that Shiro called zanpakuto. He would show Ichigo how to fight, and certain techniques they could use. On the nights that they would talk - Shiro would tell Ichigo stories of a world called Seireitei, and of the armies of shinigami that protected it. He would tell Ichigo of it's hierarchy, and their duty to protect the world of the living.

When Ichigo asked him why these things were important or how Shiro knew these things - the albino would simply smile and tell him it would all make sense eventually. Ichigo trusted him, though, so he never pushed the issue.

Then came the night that he felt a strong, dark presence. It was close to his house. He was fifteen at the time, and just beginning to be shown by Shiro how to use his powers outside of his inner world. He knelt by his bed, searching for something that had rolled underneath. Just as he began to stand to go investigate the reiatsu, he felt another person enter his room. His gaze flew to the open window only to come face to face with a shinigami itself.

"Who are you?" He called, pushing himself to his feet.

Her dark gaze remained focused on the opposite wall of the house, as if she were searching for something. It appeared as if she didn't even know Ichigo was there. The orange haired teen had to smile at that; Shiro had been training him on hiding his own reiatsu. It must've been paying off. However, he really wanted to know what the hell this woman was doing in his house.

With a growl he reached out and grabbed her arm, speaking louder this time, "It's rude to ignore someone when they speak to you!" He flared his reiatsu slightly to get her attention.

The woman turned to face him, eyes wide, "You can see me?!"

Ichigo nodded, rolling his eyes as if it were obvious, "Yeah, and like I said, it's rude to ignore someone who's speaking to you. Especially when you've just broken into their house."

He heard Shiro growl in warning and quickly pushed away from her, letting go of her limb in the process. She began chanting something - a kido if Ichigo recalled correctly - but a howl caused them both to look towards his open window. A scream sounded from downstairs and Ichigo broke into a sprint, shoving past the shinigami and ignoring her call of "Wait!"

Shiro was growing restless in his mind, warning Ichigo that something really strong was waiting for them. The teen paused on the last step, asking aloud, "Can I handle it? We've done kido in the real world." He felt the reiatsu creeping closer and tensed, however he didn't expect the side of his house to explode, and a pair of claws come stabbing out from the dust.

Ichigo pushed away from the stairs, feeling the sharp objects dig into his chest. Shiro was calling out to him, telling him to run - to get out of there. But the teen shook his head, having noticed Yuzu's unconscious form laying by their dining room table. He had to protect his sisters, even if it meant dying himself.

He gathered his reiatsu around himself - thrusting one hand towards the beast, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium - " There was a call from the shinigami as she entered the room and Ichigo got distracted for a fraction of a second.

He saw the woman's face, eyes wide in shock and terror.

He looked down and saw the claws sticking out of his chest.

He heard Shiro's howls in anger, curse words spewing from his mouth.

Then, as if a black curtain had fallen over the world -

He saw darkness.

TBC